PrismHR Live 2017: A Look Back

If you were able to join us in Nashville this year, PrismHR LIVE provided a very exciting learning and networking opportunity along with insight into the road ahead for HR Outsourcing organizations. If you weren’t there, even though you missed out on some key education, insight and networking, you’ll have the opportunity again next year in San Antonio, so we hope to see you there.

Either way, we wanted to share the conference highlights for everyone in the PEO and ASO community. One of the points of feedback we hear consistently is that attending PrismHR LIVE offers a unique opportunity for HR professionals to connect with peers, thought leaders and partners face-to-face, unlike any other event. 

PrismHR LIVE this year kicked off with a welcome reception for attendees to meet friends, old and new, and see the latest technology and services from PrismHR partners.

The conference really went into high gear on Tuesday with an homage to the host city, Nashville, which is also known as Music City. Local songwriters told their stories of collaborating with country music’s biggest stars to write chart-topping hits.

Then, starting what we are sure will be a new tradition, a local PrismHR customer – this year it was Brenda Rowan, from XMI – served as the host of the conference, giving everyone a background on the local scene and key information to get the most out of the conference. Brenda helped the group learn what it means to live in Nashville. If you were there, you now know some key Southern slang, including how to properly use “bless your heart” and “all y’all.” (If you weren’t there, trust us, it’s very funny.) Thanks, Brenda!

Brenda was followed by a Company and Industry Update from PrismHR President and CEO, Gary Noke, sharing his insight into the progress of the company, the growth and success of PrismHR customers and some big ideas for the future.

Adam Van Beek, Chief Innovation Officer and Scott Cormier, VP of Product Management then went in detail to provide news on key products and services and announce new offerings including Employee Self Service 2 and Cloud Data Courier, along with a first public mention of a forthcoming feature, Data Retriever. They also shared a number of important updates about crucial topics like cloud operations, compliance and guidance on what is on the PrismHR Roadmap for the future.

The morning closed with a dynamic keynote presentation from Scott Klososky from Future Point of View. Scott shared insight into technology trends, why digital transformation is imperative for all businesses today and how you can approach this requirement.

The afternoon kicked off the 4 unique tracks of education and learning, with more than 45 sessions over the course of the conference. Sessions were grouped into 4 categories: Payroll and Benefits; Technology and Integration; Compliance, Accounting and Reporting; and Business Growth.

Once the afternoon sessions ended, the next major networking opportunity was the centerpiece of the evening – a celebration at the George Jones Museum.

Whether it was playing life-sized Jenga, enjoying the band, trying a round of cornhole, or taking some great food, drinks and amazing views, everyone had a great time.

Wednesday started with another new tradition, PrismHR Gives Back, which was initiated by two PrismHR team members, Jake Jordan and John Reynolds who wanted to find a way to give back to the local community. Their efforts actually started a year earlier when they came up with the idea to grow their beards and shave them off at this year’s conference.

Wednesday also featured all the breakout sessions, many of which were delivered by industry leaders and HRO professionals on topics including security, growth, best practices for moving to PrismHR, and much more.

Another highlight of Wednesday was Jay Acunzo’s keynote. Jay used some great stories to help attendees learn how to make the leap and transform their businesses from “me too” to something unique and exceptional. He shared stories of innovation and customer focus including Deathwish Coffee, and if you were there, you probably had a debate with your peers if a hot-dog truly is a sandwich or not. Both keynotes from Jay and Scott Klososky were noted to be the “best keynote” people had ever seen. We’re not really sure how both can be the best, but that speaks to how much attendees liked these overall. So we’re going to let those who had the opportunity to learn from these inspiring speakers decide who was better.

Wednesday night closed out with another fun networking event at Tequila Cowboy. Attendees even had a chance to ride the mechanical bull. Trust us, it’s much, much harder than it looks.

Thursday was the last day of the conference, and the morning kicked off in a big way, celebrating the best digital marketing in the industry. Congratulations to the winners from G&A Partners, Xenium and Syndeo.

Over the course of the day attendees dove deep into sessions to learn about how to be more efficient and plan for the future.

And as the day wound down, the anticipation became palpable. What would be shown at the Sneak Peeks to close out the conference? What was so cool that the PrismHR team was hyping it left and right? What was the team working on for the future that would cause spontaneous applause?

Let’s just say if you were there, the Sneak Peeks didn’t disappoint. And if you weren’t there, you missed a first-hand, earliest possible look at some of the amazing things that are actually possible with PrismHR today and will be possible in the near term future. Highlights of the Sneak Peeks included the new Data Retriever feature, making it fast and easy to get data you want into Excel. In addition, Location Services simplifies setting up new accounts, helps ensure proper taxes, and enables employees to make their own updates to addresses. These, in addition to the ability to create alerts and notifications that work in tools like Slack or even via voice in new products like Amazon Alexa, wowed everyone. And the other stuff shown wasn’t too shabby either – whether that was easier ad-hoc reporting with Informer 5, Multifactor authentication, or our vision to streamline and automate payroll, everyone left energized and excited for the future.

The conference then closed like it opened, with a powerful country song inspired by the PrismHR community. Thanks to everyone who spent time with us in Nashville – customers, partners, prospects, industry leaders. It was a great week, and we can’t wait until next year in San Antonio. (By the way, you can pre-register now and save!)